Pastor Tim Patoka
Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You? Midweek Advent 2022 With Faith Like Mary Luke 1:26-38
They call it a leap of faith when you do or think something that most ordinary people never would. When your favorite sports team drafts an athlete with an unknown or not-so-great track record, you wonder, “Why would they do such a thing? How will this help us reach the championship and win it?” To you, it seems like the coach and general manager have taken a leap of faith. If you like to watch shows like ABC’s Shark Tank, you see how often the expert business investors (known as “sharks”) disagree with each. They listen to the young entrepreneur who has little more than a vision and energy. And some of the sharks heavily invest in them and take that leap of faith. In many ways, what the angel Gabriel told Mary in our verses from Luke chapter 1 required her to take a leap of faith. Because what he said would happen to and through her was simply impossible, unexpected, and perhaps even outlandish! Yet Mary did not remain in doubt over the promises Gabriel told her. Rather, she accepted them with simple faith that wholeheartedly believed in what he said. We remember what faith is when we remember Hebrews chapter 11(:1), “Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see.” (EHV) This is the kind of faith that Mary demonstrated when Gabriel came to her with his three leap-of-faith promises. And so we can who ask, “Oh Lord, how shall I meet you?” and answer like Mary who wholeheartedly believed them with simple faith. God made sure Gabriel knew who to give his message and leap-of-faith promises to. It was in the province of Galilee, the town of Nazareth. This message wasn’t just for any Mary, but Mary the virgin who was pledged to marry Joseph from the house of David. Once he found her, Gabriel greeted her and calmed her nerves. He then delivered his three leap-of-faith promises: 1) that she, a virgin, would become pregnant, 2) that her son would be the Son of God himself, and 3) his reign would be an everlasting one over the house of Jacob, that is, the body of believers. Mary had plenty of reasons to doubt what Gabriel told her right then and there. For one, she knew better than anyone that she was a virgin. As such, the last thing you expect is to become a parent! If her son was going to be the Son of God himself, that would mean that she was his mother and part of his family line. As a young Jewish girl, Mary had grown up hearing about Old Testament heroes of faith who were blessed to be in the Messiah’s family tree like Abraham and David, 1
Pastor Tim Patoka
Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You? Midweek Advent 2022
Ruth and Rahab. To think that she would be listed among them and to be the Messiah’s mother? No one expects that! As for her son having an everlasting reign, well there are two reasons why that shouldn’t happen. No one ruler lives forever to reign forever. And no one family or party remains in power forever. Why, if Mary were like any ordinary person, she would have heard these three leap-of-faith promises from Gabriel and rejected them. Though we live 2,000+ years since these words were first spoken to Mary, we have plenty of reasons to doubt these same three leap-of-faith promises. It’s just as impossible today as it was back then for a virgin to become a mother. We also have the added social stigma for holding to such an impossible truth! You know how some people view flat earthers as complete fools for disregarding objective data and holding to an impossible and contrary idea? That’s how some view Christians who believe in and celebrate the virgin birth of our Savior. As for Mary being the mother of the Son of God himself, how can a sinful woman give birth to someone without any sin? While some Christians may try to change who Mary was by giving her special treatment or elevating her above every other believer, we know that’s not true. Yes, Mary was highly favored and found favor with God. But so were those Old Testament heroes of faith like Abraham and David, Ruth and Rahab. God didn’t choose these sinful believers to receive his favor because of how good or great they were. Instead, it depended entirely on God’s grace and mercy to give this favored role to sinners such as these. As for Mary’s son having an everlasting reign, nothing has changed since Mary’s time. No one lives forever and no one organization remains in power forever. Though Mary had plenty of reasons to doubt what Gabriel promised her, she didn’t. Rather, she met those promises and God who spoke through them with simple faith, a wholehearted belief in what was said. And that’s because the fulfillment of all these promises depended on God. When she asked Gabriel how she, a virgin, was going to become pregnant, Gabriel told her how, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35 EHV) God the Holy Spirit would make it happen in a way that retained her purity yet left her with the blessing of a child. If she had any lingering doubts, she could simply look to her relative Elizabeth who was entering her third trimester with John the Baptist despite being aged and barren. If there was any doubt how Mary, a sinful believer, could give birth to Jesus, the Son of God himself, think to Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration. It was there that God the Father spoke from heaven saying, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.” (Luke 3:22 EHV; very similar in Matthew 17:5) If God the Father himself calls Jesus his Son, who else do you need to hear it from? As for Jesus’ everlasting reign, we 2
Pastor Tim Patoka
Oh Lord, How Shall I Meet You? Midweek Advent 2022
know his reign began after he rose from the dead and he will never die again. And he is surely reigning now from God’s right hand in the hearts of all believers through faith and in world as he works all things for our eternal good. As we look back with 2,000-year-old hindsight to these leap-of-faith promises, we not only see how they were fulfilled. We also see enduring qualities about our God that further encourage us to respond with simple faith to all his promises as we wholeheartedly believe in them. From that virgin birth, we see how God is true to his word. What he says, he will do no matter how impossible, unpopular, or outlandish it may seem. From Mary being the mother of the Son of God, we know that whatever Jesus did is what God did. And what a comfort that is for sinners such as us when we look at that cross. The one who died on it was not merely a man with good intentions but ultimately a victim of injustice, he was God himself who offered up his perfect life as the sacrifice for our sins. As such, there is forgiveness for us whenever we doubt God’s leap-of-faith promises and heaven is surely our home. Because Jesus’ reign is everlasting, that assures us as his citizens that we are ever under his watchful and caring eye. And he will certainly act in our eternal, best favor. Because Mary knew that God would fulfill his leap-of-faith promises, Mary met him with a simple faith that wholeheartedly believed what Gabriel told her. As we consider how we are to meet our Lord, we look back to Mary. Because she is a forgiven believer like any of us, we too can respond as she did with simple faith. As such, may we wholeheartedly believe these three leap-of-faith promises and whatever our Lord tells us as we prepare to meet him one day. Amen.
3